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Remarks by Senator Harry Reid
National Press Club
Washington, DC
Thursday, May 26, 2005
This has been an important week for America. The defeat of the nuclear option was not a victory for any party, but a victory for our Constitution and our country.
As we said from the beginning of this struggle, our fight wasn't over some obscure rule of the Senate. It was a fight for Americans' fundamental rights and against the abuse of power.
And I'm here today to say that fight has not ended. It is only beginning.
This week threatened to be one that would undermine our democratic traditions. Instead, it marks a moment when we can finally turn away from government by polarization and build a government for the people.
Time and again, the American people have seen George Bush and the Republican leadership choose between their partisan interests and the people's interest. And every time, they have chosen an ideological agenda over an American agenda.
When George Bush and the Republican leadership make their decisions, the whispered wishes of a few right wing activists drown out the pleas of America's families.
But if the Washington Republicans stopped to listen to the American people, this is what they'd hear:
Americans are sick and tired of getting caught in the crossfire of partisan sniping.
Americans want us to put the common sense center ahead of nonsense .
Americans want us to bring people together, to focus on what we owe to one another, and the responsibilities we share.
And Americans want their agenda -- their jobs, their health care, their security -- to get back on the front burners of the nation's agenda.
Americans are coming to realize this Republican Congress is out of touch with the real problems of working families and that the agenda the Republicans are advancing is at odds with what people in this country really care about.
We Democrats have something better to offer. A reform agenda that will cleanse Washington ... give power to the people -- not special interests ... and make sure that everyday Americans and their concerns get back on the Congressional calendar.
Strengthening our national defense. Rebuilding our economy. Providing families with affordable health care. Making America energy independent. Securing our retirement. That's our agenda. That's America's agenda. But the Republican Congress has put all this and more on hold. I hope that now we can finally turn to the people's business.
Six moths have passed since this Republican Congress began and here's their record:
They spent precious days trying to overturn constitutional principles.
They tried to overturn the decisions of courts and duly elected legislatures in order to insert themselves into one family's tragedy in Florida.
They all-but disbanded the House Ethics Committee in order to protect the Republican leader from scrutiny -- but then were forced to reverse themselves under public pressure.
But perhaps the greatest abuse of power is to have the ability to help but choose to do nothing.
While gas prices have shot past $2 a gallon, this Republican Congress did nothing to lower prices and give families some relief.
At a time that parents are having to tell their children that the family can't afford to send them to college, this Republican Congress rejected a proposal to make college more affordable.
And even though we have gone eight years without an increase in the minimum wage -- the second longest period ever -- this Republican Congress rejected an increase that would give the hardest working Americans the chance to provide for their families.
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